Design And Drafting
Tool Design & CAD Drafting Built for Manufacturing
We design the tooling before we build it, using the same CAD platform your engineering team already works in. Every design goes through a structured review before anything reaches the shop floor, so problems get caught on the drawing board instead of after a part is already machined.
OUR DESIGN PROCESS
From Concept to Approved Drawing
Our design work starts with your requirements, whether that is a full specification package, a rough sketch, or just a description of what the tool needs to do. We build 3D CAD models from your inputs and produce fully dimensioned 2D detail drawings for manufacturing. Every design goes through a standard sequence:
01.
Layout
02.
Customer Review
03.
Approval
04.
Final Quality Check
That structure exists for a reason.
A problem caught on a drawing costs nothing to fix. The same problem caught after machining costs time, material, and sometimes the entire job. We treat the design phase as the place where most of the risk gets resolved, not as a box to check before the real work starts.
Most tool designs go through at least one revision cycle between the initial layout and the released drawing. We factor that into the schedule so revisions do not come as a surprise to the timeline.
PLATFORM
The same platform GE and Pratt & Whitney use
We design in the latest version of Siemens NX, the same platform used by GE and Pratt & Whitney, which means files move between our team and yours without translation issues or format conversion. If you have a preference for a different file format on delivery, we can usually accommodate that.
What We Design
Tooling, Fixtures, and Custom Industrial Equipment
We produce 3D models, blueprints, and fully detailed drawings complete with bill of materials lists for a wide range of tools and assemblies. The types of work we design include:
Machining fixtures
Inspection gages
Transportation trunnion carts
Welding fixtures
Hydroform dies
Load-tested lifting devices
| Deliverable | Detail |
|---|---|
| 3D model files | Siemens NX or a neutral format, whichever works on your end |
| 2D drawings | Fully dimensioned |
| Bill of materials | Documentation included |
These are not generic templates. Each design is built around your specific part geometry, your manufacturing process, and the tolerances your inspection team will check. If a fixture needs to index to a specific feature, or a lifting device needs to be load tested to a rated capacity, those requirements get engineered into the design from the start, not added as an afterthought.
We have designed tooling for customers across aerospace, defense, and industrial manufacturing, and the accumulated experience shapes how we approach new problems. When we have seen a similar challenge before, we can tell you what worked and what did not, which is worth something in a field where tooling mistakes are expensive.
Why Design In House
One Team, Fewer Handoffs
Because our design and machining teams work in the same facility, there is no communication gap between the engineer who drew the part and the machinist who is cutting it. When a question comes up on the floor, the designer can walk over and look at the part.
No back-and-forth emails
Project delays from separated design and manufacturing locations or vendor relationships completely disappear.
Designers know what's machinable
Which features require special tooling and which tolerances are achievable with standard equipment.
Small changes, real savings
A minor design change can save significant machining time without compromising the part's function.
Consistent from the first run
That knowledge makes designs more practical and the resulting parts more consistent from run to run.
Working With Your Team
Designed to Fit Your Engineering Process
Most of our design work is collaborative. Your engineers know the application requirements and the performance criteria. Our designers know what is buildable and what manufacturing process will produce the most reliable result. Good tool design happens at the intersection of those two perspectives.
We adapt our process to fit your review and approval workflow rather than asking you to adapt to ours:
Formal programs
Large aerospace programs with formal drawing release processes.
Lighter documentation
Smaller industrial manufacturers with lighter documentation requirements.
Milestone reviews
If your team needs to be involved at specific milestones, we schedule for that.
Spec sheet, handed off
Prefer to hand us a performance specification and receive a completed design package? We can work that way too.
Get In Touch
Have a Concept or a Spec Sheet?
Send us what you have, even if it is not a finished drawing yet, and we will help you get it there.